We shall continue the
study of Exodus, the second book of the Old Testament.
(1) God has already appeared to Moses in person. He heard God’s voice and saw the miracle of the burning bush. What else did Moses need in order to trust God? Was his question in v.1 an excuse or a valid question? How so?
(2) What were the three miracles that God told Moses to perform?
(3) Upon seeing these miracles, how would the Israelites understand the difference between those of their God and those of the deities worshipped in Egypt?
(4) With what was being said by God in vv. 8-9, what can you tell about God’s knowledge of the people He was going to deliver?
(5) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
(1) Do you think what Moses said in v. 10 was an excuse? Consider the following:
a. His training in Egypt’s palace
b. Who was the one doing most of the talking to the people
(2) How true was God’s answer in v. 11? What is its implication to you today?
(3) Moses revealed his bottom line in v. 13. If you were Moses, would you say that? Why or why not?
(4) What was God’s reaction to Moses’ attitude?
(5) Have you made God mad lately (or ever)? What happened?
(6) As far as Moses was concerned, what might be the danger of being elevated to the point that he “were [as] God to him”?
(7) How did Moses handle such a potential temptation? (See Num. 12:3.)
(8) Why did God tell Moses to take “this staff” with him? Could God not perform miracles without this staff?
(9) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
(1) What did Moses tell his father-in-law?
(2) What didn’t he tell Jethro? What does this signify?
(3) Moses took his family with him.
(4) It seems that God appeared to Moses again when he was back in Midian, now that he had time to digest the whole experience and mull over his mission:
(5) The passage in vv. 24-26 is most enigmatic and is unlikely to have any consensus this side of heaven, but, still, let’s try to meditate on it. Based on a traditional Jewish understanding it is most likely that “Moses has neglected the commandment to circumcise his son” (Alter, 331) as stipulated by God in Genesis 17:
- What then did this event mean to Moses?
- What was the significance of him being saved by his wife?
- Although, it appears that Moses eventually sent his family home (see Exod. 18:2), what did this event mean to the whole family?
(6) What did the elders of Israel do at the end of this section? According to v. 31, why did they do so?
(7) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
(1) Was the request by Moses and Aaron reasonable at all? Why or why not?
(2) Imagine that you go to an employer in, say, an Islamic country, and ask for a day off on the same grounds. What might you expect the employer to say?
(3) What further reason(s) did Moses and Aaron give in v.3?
(4) Instead of trying to see if Moses and Aaron had lied, what was the focus of the king?
(5) In what way was Pharaoh like the world in general, when we seek to introduce them to God?
(6) What was Pharaoh trying to achieve by his new order to the slave drivers and foremen? Was he successful?
(7) The foremen’s response to their beating was understandable, but what about Moses’?
(8) What did Moses’ response to the LORD tell us about his spiritual condition at this point of his journey?
(9) What have you learned today and how may you apply it in your life?
(1) In response to Moses’ complaint, the Lord gave a fairly lengthy reply that deserves our reflection in vv. 1-5:
a. What did the first part of God’s reply (v. 1) signify to Moses?
b. God reminded Moses of the difference in His appearance to Abraham and His appearance to him. What was the difference and what is the significance of this difference?
c. Why was His appearance to Abraham relevant to their present challenge?
d. What did God reiterate as the reason for His action, apart from simply honoring His promise to Abraham?
e. What should all these mean to Moses in spite of the setback?
(2) What should the message that Moses was to bring back to the people mean to them (vv. 6-8)? Consider the following:
a. His name is “I AM”
b. How the deliverance would come about
c. A promise of a personal relationship
d. A reminder of His covenant with the patriarch
e. A reiteration of His name
(3) In what ways was this message similar to the salvation God has given us in Jesus Christ? In what way is our salvation in Christ greater than the deliverance of the people from Egypt?
(4) While they bowed down and worshipped God when they first heard of God’s concern for them, why did they not listen to Moses’ report from God?
(5) Try to define discouragement. How destructive is discouragement to one’s relationship with God?
(6) How did the people’s discouragement affect the leader, Moses?
(7) What is the main message for you today and how may you apply it in your life?
Note: The genealogy in vv. 14-25 is obviously not a complete genealogy. Its purpose is made clear in vv. 26-27.
(1) Now, Moses’ reiteration of what he said to God in 4:10 basically amounted to saying, “I told you so!” How would you define Moses’ spiritual leadership at this point?
(2) If you were the Lord, what would you have done to Moses?
(3) How different was Moses from church leaders or ministers today?
(4) In His reiteration of His command to Moses and Aaron, what might be new in this message? What would it have meant to Moses? (Note also the new description that God now gave to His people.)
(5) Was there a message here in mentioning the respective ages of Moses and Aaron?
(6) Granted Moses’ speech might really be “faltering lips”, what was the thing that really mattered for Moses to be an effective messenger of God and why?
(7) Although Pharaoh did not budge, what has the miracle of the staff-turned-snake achieved, as far as Moses’ mission was concerned, at this important beginning of his ministry.
(8) As much as Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, how might they be treated differently when Moses and Aaron next show up?
(9) What is the main message for you today and how may you apply it in your life?
Note: See article of Exodus 5:1-23, Year 2 Week12 Day 81, concerning the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
(1) We now come to what is known as the first of the ten plagues. What did God want to demonstrate to Pharaoh and the Egyptians through the turning of the water in the Nile into blood?
(2) There was also an irony in turning water into “blood” which is the source and substance of life. What then might the warning be to Pharaoh?
(3) What kind of trouble did this miracle cause the people of Egypt?
(4) Why did God permit the magicians of Egypt to perform the same acts of miracle?
(5) Why didn’t Pharaoh even “take this to heart”? Shouldn’t he think of asking his Egyptian magicians to “reverse” the miracle?
(6) Why did God still put the request only as “so that they may worship me in the desert”?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it in your life?